ARTICLE 28

Grievance Procedure

 

The IFO  and the Employer  agree that they will use their best efforts to encourage an informal and prompt settlement of any complaint that exists with respect to the interpretation and/or application of this Agreement  or Employer policies and practices related to terms and conditions of employment. However, in the event such complaint arises between the Employer and the IFO or faculty member  which cannot be settled informally, a grievance procedure is described herein.

 

No determination shall be made by the Employer  in the grievance procedure which diminishes, amends, or otherwise modifies the provisions of this Agreement .

 

 

DEFINITIONS .

 

Grievance.   A Grievance means a dispute or disagreement as to the interpretation or application of any term or terms of any contract required under Minnesota Statutes  ' 179A.21, Subd. 1.

 

Grievant..   A Grievant is a unit member  or a group of unit members, Association , or IFO  making the complaint.   A grievance filed by the Association which alleges a violation may be initiated at

Step  II of the grievance procedure. A grievance filed by the IFO  which alleges a violation may be initiated at Step  III of the grievance procedure.

 

Days .  A Day means calendar  days, excluding Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays as defined by Minnesota Statutes .  For purposes of the Step II and Step III grievance filing period, and for the Employer ’s corresponding written response, the term “days” shall not include days within the semester break during December and January for the applicable campus.

 

 

 

Service .  A Service  means personal service or by first class mail.

 

Reduced to Writing .  A Reduced to Writing means a concise statement outlining the nature of the grievance, the provision(s) of the contract in dispute, and the relief requested. A grievance shall be filed on the form supplied by the Employer  (Appendix A).

 

 

Answer .  Answer means a concise response outlining the Employer ’s position on the grievance.

 

 

Informal Step .

 

Whenever any employee has a grievance, he/she or they may meet on an informal basis with the appropriate Dean  (or equivalent) or other university  designee  in an attempt to resolve the grievance.

 

Step I .

 

In the event satisfactory resolution is not achieved through informal discussion, the grievant, within thirty (30) days following the act or omission giving rise to the grievance or the date on which the grievant reasonably should have known of such act of omission if that date is later, shall complete and forward to the Academic Vice President  the written signed grievance form (Appendix A) which shall be signed by the Association  grievance representative.

 

If the grievant, exclusive representative , or Academic Vice President  requests a meeting, the parties shall within seven (7) days of receipt of the grievance arrange a meeting and endeavor to mutually resolve the grievance. The Academic Vice President shall then respond to the grievance in writing within ten (10) days of the meeting of the parties. If the exclusive representative, employee(s), or Academic Vice President does not request a meeting at Step I, the Academic Vice President shall respond to the grievance in writing within ten (10) days of the receipt of the grievance at Step I.

 

 

Step II .

 

If the grievance is still unresolved after the response of the Academic Vice President  or designee , it may be presented to the President/designee  by the exclusive representative  or the employee(s) or his/her designee within ten (10) days after the receipt of the Step I response. If the grievant, exclusive representative, or President requests a meeting, the parties shall within seven (7) days of receipt of the grievance arrange a meeting and endeavor to mutually resolve the grievance. The President shall respond to the grievance in writing within ten (10) days of the meeting of the parties. When the exclusive representative, employee(s), or President do not request a meeting at Step II, the President shall respond to the grievance in writing within ten (10) days of receipt of the grievance at Step II.

 

 

Step III .

 

 

If the grievance is still unresolved at Step II and the local Association  or employee(s) desire to appeal, it shall be referred by the IFO , in writing, to the Chancellor  within twenty (20) days after the response at Step II.  The Chancellor or his/her designee  and the IFO representative shall within ten (10) days of the receipt of the grievance arrange a meeting at a time mutually agreeable to the parties. If the grievance is settled as a result of such meeting, the settlement shall be reduced to writing and signed by the Chancellor or his/her designee, and the IFO representative. If no settlement is reached, the Chancellor or his/her designee shall give a written response to the IFO within ten (10) days following the meeting.

 

 

 

Step IV .

 

If the grievance is still unresolved after the response of the Chancellor  or his/her designee , the exclusive representative  may, within fifteen (15) days, request arbitration  by serving a written notice on the other party of its intention to proceed with arbitration.

 

The Chancellor  or his/her designee  and the IFO  representative shall endeavor to select a mutually acceptable arbitrator to hear and decide the grievance. Expedited arbitration , as defined by the American Arbitration Association , shall be used with respect to all disciplinary actions clearly labeled by the Employer  as either an oral or written reprimand.  If expedited arbitration is used, the parties will make their best efforts to hold the arbitration hearing within 45 days of the receipt of the Step IV notification.  If a party is unable to agree to a hearing within the 45 day period, the arbitration shall proceed, except that the other party may give notice that the expedited procedures will not be followed. Expedited arbitration may be used by the parties with respect to other disputes  upon mutual agreement  of the IFO and the Employer’s Step III representative. 

 

Regular Arbitration.  The scheduling of the hearing date for all grievances submitted to non-expedited arbitration  shall be accomplished within twenty-five (25) days after receipt of available dates from the arbitrator. 

 

The arbitration  proceeding shall be conducted by an arbitrator to be selected by lot from a permanent panel of five (5) arbitrators.  The members of the permanent panel shall be selected by the following method: the IFO  and the Chancellor ’s designee  shall each submit a list of five (5) arbitrators until agreement  is reached on a permanent panel.  Vacancies on the panel that arise during the term of this agreement shall be filled by mutual agreement or by each party submitting lists of three (3) arbitrators, until a replacement is agreed upon.  The parties may, by mutual agreement, add or remove members from the permanent arbitration panel.

  

Arbitrator selection shall be made from the permanent panel as follows:  the panel member ’s names shall be listed in alphabetical order and numbered one (1) to five (5).  As it becomes necessary to schedule arbitrations and select arbitrators, the parties will first select arbitrator one (1), then arbitrator two (2), and so forth until the list is exhausted; at that time the parties will resume selection from the beginning of the alphabetical list.  If the arbitrator selected is not available, the parties will move to use the next arbitrator on the alphabetical list. 

 

Each party shall be responsible for equally compensating the arbitrator for his/her fee and necessary expenses.

 

The arbitrator shall not have the power to add to, subtract from, or modify in any way the terms of the existing Agreement .

 

The decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding on all parties to the dispute unless the decision violates any provision of the laws of Minnesota or rules or regulations promulgated thereunder, or municipal charters or ordinances or resolutions enacted pursuant thereto, or which causes a penalty to be incurred thereunder. The decision shall be issued to the parties by the arbitrator, and a copy shall be filed with the Bureau of Mediation  Services , State of Minnesota.

 

All grievances shall be processed during the normal workday whenever possible, and employees shall not lose wages due to their necessary participation. For purposes of this paragraph, employees entitled to wages during their necessary participation in a grievance proceeding are as follows:

 

      a.   The number of employees equal to the number of persons participating in the grievance proceeding on behalf of the public employer; or

 

      b.   If the number of persons participating on behalf of the public employer is less than three (3), three (3) employees may still participate in the proceedings  without loss of wages.

 

The parties, by mutual written agreement , may waive any step and extend any time limits in a grievance procedure.  If timely filed at Step I, grievances filed during the months of May through August, may, at the choice of the Faculty  Association , be held in abeyance and shall be scheduled for a meeting within fourteen (14) calendar  days of the start of the fall calendar.  Mutual written agreement may be established by a computer message requesting, and a written computer message or other writing confirming, the waiver or the extension.  However, failure to adhere to the time limits may result in a forfeit of the grievance, or, in the case of the Employer , require mandatory alleviation of the grievance as outlined in the last statement by the exclusive representative  or employee.

 

The provisions of this grievance procedure shall be severable, and if any provision or paragraph thereof or application of any provision or paragraph under any circumstance is held invalid, it shall not affect any other provision or paragraph of this grievance procedure or the application of any provision or paragraph thereof under different circumstances. Within thirty (30) days after the execution of the Agreement , the IFO  shall furnish to the Employer  a list of all persons authorized to act as grievance representatives and shall update the list as needed.

 

The Employer  will furnish the names of the Employer’s designees  to deal with grievances at each step of the grievance procedure. No member  of the bargaining unit  shall be an Employer designee  for any step in the grievance procedure.